WBEZ Award Submissions

What happened when the Sausage King of Chicago bought a South Side housing complex? by WBEZ Award Submissions

Chicago's Invisible Property Owners by WBEZ Award Submissions

Chicago rents are climbing fast. For many, there's nowhere left to go by WBEZ Award Submissions

Can two seemingly contradictory trends observed across dozens of schools both be true? That was the question that motivated education reporter Sarah Karp to go digging last school year. She and two colleagues found that a quarter of all high schoolers missed more than a month of class last year — double the 2019 number — even as graduation rates kept rising. To understand what was driving these trends, they looked at Chicago high schools with high absenteeism rates and committed the time to report this issue deeply and with sensitivity — by talking to students, teachers, families and administrators. They also mined the research on the relationship between attendance and academic achievement and looked at how changes in school policies were allowing students to miss class but still pass. They presented this reporting in two digital stories. Separately, Sarah took her audio reporting and used it to produce two sound-rich broadcast stories that brought the findings to a different audience. The first is a hard news piece laying out the startling findings and the consequences for learning. The second is built around one school and one teen, helping listeners understand why students stop coming to class and how to potentially draw them back. Both pieces put students’ stories and experiences squarely at the center of her storytelling while never losing sight of the contradiction that needed to be unpacked.

When President Donald Trump launched a mass deportation campaign early last year and focused on Chicago during the fall, our newsroom covered the efforts from every angle. But we had one priority: the campaign’s effects on everyday people, their families and their communities. We have selected 2 audio stories in which our reporters revealed in deeply human ways the campaign’s personal toll. They include a story about a family fearful they would be separated from their newborn baby, struggling through the difficult decisions of what to do in order to keep their family together. Another follows a family already separated, tracking the father’s experience as he’s transferred from one detention center to another across the United States while his family, left behind in Chicago, struggles to figure out what to do about their future.

WBEZ Chicago stands out for the kind of journalism that truly connects with the people it serves. Its reporting consistently centers the real experiences of Chicagoans, tackling complex issues like immigration, housing, public safety and global conflict through deeply human storytelling and careful, on-the-ground reporting. The newsroom blends strong investigative work with thoughtful audio, digital storytelling and audience engagement, giving voice to communities that are often overlooked while helping audiences better understand the forces shaping their lives. With a clear commitment to public service, accountability and community impact, WBEZ’s work reflects the spirit of journalism that informs, engages and strengthens civic life — the qualities at the heart of Murrow Award–winning overall excellence.

I submit for your consideration two deeply reported stories by WBEZ Chicago reporter Kristen Schorsch told with trust, care and accountability. In the past year, Kristen embedded in a community on Chicago’s West Side with the support of a national fellowship to understand why residents here are expected to die 20 years earlier than people who live in richer, whiter parts of segregated Chicago. This is the biggest so-called death gap of any big city in America. Kristen brings you the stories of two families who in their own ways are trying to close the death gap for their community.

Emmett Till House: NABJ Submission by WBEZ Award Submissions

A 60 minute compilation of Prisoncast segments from 2025 for award consideration. Original broadcast dates: 3/30/2025, 6/15/2025, 11/6/2025, 12/14/2025

Prisoncast: Jernigan Piano by WBEZ Award Submissions

A 30 minute compilation of Prisoncast segments from 2025 for award considertaion. Original broadcast dates: 3/30/2025, 6/15/2025, 11/6/2025, 12/14/2025

For 2025 Scripps Howard Award consideration in the category of Narrative Human Interest Storytelling We have selected six audio stories in which our reporters revealed in deeply human ways the campaign’s personal toll. This reporting did not come easy. A climate of fear in Chicago’s immigrant communities discouraged people from going public with their experiences. But our journalists, after reporting about immigrants for decades, had the skills to find people at risk, thoughtfully approach them and share their stories with sensitivity and care. Title: Separated, deported and stressed Reporters: Chip Mitchell, Adriana Cardona-Maguigad, Lauren FitzPatrick Chicago Public Media, WBEZ Chicago

Prisoncast! is a statewide audio and engaged journalism project serving currently and formerly incarcerated Illinoisans and their loved ones. Everything we cover comes directly from a request, a question or an idea from someone in this community.

Prisoncast! is a statewide audio and engaged journalism project serving currently and formerly incarcerated Illinoisans and their loved ones. Everything we cover comes directly from a request, a question or an idea from someone in this community.

Prisoncast! is a statewide audio and engaged journalism project serving currently and formerly incarcerated Illinoisans and their loved ones. Everything we cover comes directly from a request, a question or an idea from someone in this community.

Prisoncast! is a statewide audio and engaged journalism project serving currently and formerly incarcerated Illinoisans and their loved ones. Everything we cover comes directly from a request, a question or an idea from someone in this community.

Prisoncast! is a statewide audio and engaged journalism project serving currently and formerly incarcerated Illinoisans and their loved ones. Everything we cover comes directly from a request, a question or an idea from someone in this community.

Prisoncast! is a statewide audio and engaged journalism project serving currently and formerly incarcerated Illinoisans and their loved ones. Everything we cover comes directly from a request, a question or an idea from someone in this community.

EWA 2025 Beat Reporting Sarah Karp by WBEZ Award Submissions

The relatively poor South American country has received four times more Venezuelans than the United States but offers a path to integration. We went to see it. Broadcast: June 16-18, 2024 Chip Mitchell, lead reporter Patrick Smith, audio editor Kate Grossman, lead editor